Decouple

Germany has pursued a bold 550 billion euro transition plan away from Nuclear Energy towards a 100% renewables energy system.  The Energiewende as it is known also aims to phase out fossil fuels but remains heavily reliant on coal, natural gas and biomass to firm up its fleet of intermittent renewables. Thies Beckers, a dutch energy analyst, joins me for a discussion about how the Energiewende is going and discusses his upcoming documentary, Atom-Exit. For more information about the film and to make a donation please visit www.easynuclear.com and follow Thies on twitter @thiesbeckers.

Between 2005-2014 the Canadian province of Ontario phased out its coal fired electricity generation in what some call the greatest single greenhouse gas reduction initiative in North America to date. It was the equivalent to taking 7 million cars off the road. Climate benefits were accompanied by dramatic improvements in Air Quality with smog days dropping from 53 per year to zero once the phaseout was complete. The elephant in the room that noone wants to talk about is the role that Nuclear Energy had in making this historic energy transition possible. Our guest Steve Aplin shares Ontario's example for the world as we aim for a transition to a zero emissions energy system. 

My name is Chris Keefer. I am an Emergency Physician concerned with fighting climate change and poverty. Join me on my journey into the frontiers of science, technology and politics as I explore solutions to the climate and poverty crises. I’ve moved from being a green environmentalist advocating degrowth and opposing new technology towards embracing technologies that can decouple human well being from its environmental impact and imagining the kind of politics and economic system necessary to pursue this goal. Welcome to Decouple. In this inaugaral episode Jesse Freeston and I dive deep into it all. Fasten your seatbelts and dive on in.  Referenced Books: Charles C Mann: The Wizard and the Prophet,  Noah Yuval Hariri: Sapiens,  Daniel Quinn: Ishmael,  Leigh Phillips: The People's Republic of Walmart,  Jonathan Symons: Technology, Politics and The Climate Crisis,  James Lovelock: A Rough Ride to the Future,  Lewis Dartnell: Origins,  Tim Maloney and Mike Conley: Roadmap to Nowhere